Alabama falls to Auburn, fails to qualify for SEC tournament

The University of Alabama soccer team fell to Auburn 1-0 in the Iron Bowl of Soccer on a wet and rainy Thursday night at the Alabama Soccer Complex. With the loss

The University of Alabama soccer team fell to Auburn 1-0 in the Iron Bowl of Soccer on a wet and rainy Thursday night at the Alabama Soccer Complex. With the loss, the Crimson Tide was eliminated from qualifying for the Southeastern Conference Tournament and ends its season at 6-12 overall and 4-7 in the SEC.“This is just a heartbreaker,” Alabama coach Todd Bramble said. “We threw everything we had at them and they just found a way to keep it out of the back of the net. We missed some chances we typically don’t miss, and they also got some help from the woodwork. But that’s just the way it goes sometimes.”Auburn (7-8-3, 3-5-3) scored the game’s lone goal with only 37 seconds remaining before halftime. The score came on a long free kick that found the head of Jordan Miller, who passed it to Chelsea Gandy-Cromer, and she drilled a shot into the lower right side. Alabama had numerous chances to tie the match. Senior Kendall Khanna hit the crossbar in the 84th minute and junior Pia Rijsdijk did the same in the 89th minute. Rijsdijk also had a golden opportunity with a point-blank shot in the 79th minute that went just wide of the goal. Rijsdijk and Khanna led the way with five shots apiece.In all, the Tide outshot the Tigers 18-9, including a 13-6 advantage in the second half.“It feels like this game is a microcosm of this season,” Bramble said. “It’s been a rough ride the whole way through. I have been surprised, and I had a lot of confidence in this team. One day defensively we didn’t do enough, and the next game offensively it wasn’t good enough. This team never fired on all cylinders. I have to figure out why in the offseason.”